Like Father Like Son (Ishua & Jalen Benjamin)

When you have a father that played at NC State and was a high school legend in the region, those are some big shoes to fill. Jalen Benjamin of Leesville Road High School is doing all that he can to make sure he can fit into those shoes.

Ishua Benjamin was named Mr. Basketball along with a fourth-team nod for The Parade Magazine All-American Team in 1994 at Concord High School outside of Charlotte, North Carolina. He went on to enjoy a four-year career at NC State University. He then went on to play overseas for a number of years. Ishua is now an assistant coach for Leesville Road High School.

His son Jalen Benjamin, a junior point guard has scored 35 points and 41 points in his last two games (both wins) for Leesville Road High School who are undefeated at 7-0. The athletic guard helped lead Leesville Road High School to a runner-up finish in the NCHSAA 4-A playoffs last season.

Ishua Benjamin in his playing days for NC State

He is good at beating players off the dribble to hit the mid-range pull-up jumper. He is sneaky quick in transition and can finish with either hand. He has the ability to score over bigger players with ease. His deep shooting is getting better and can consistently knock down shots from the beyond the three-point line. He is very athletic and has the basketball gene in his blood. He has the text book form on his jump shot that coaches love.

Jalen has offers from UAB, High Point, Richmond, George Mason, Canisius, Tulane, Illinois State, Northern Arizona and Detroit. Jalen is barely 5-foot-10 and his dad is 6-foot-5, but that doesn’t stop the talk of how similar their games are. The younger Benjamin can score at will like his dad, and can throw down some high-flying dunks like his dad used to do back in his prime days at Concord High School and NC State.